A Benton man involved in a fatal shooting Monday at a Reidland storage facility was indicted Tuesday on a murder charge by a McCracken County grand jury.

The McCracken County Sheriff’s Department said Jeffrey Conrad, 49, called 911 around 7 a.m. Monday after he had allegedly shot Garlon Casey Cox, 30, of Benton in the head during an altercation.

Conrad told officers that Cox and another man, Brandon York, 36, had stolen items from his storage unit.

According to the sheriff’s department, Conrad had arrived at AAA Mini-Storage on Eagles Nest Drive to find Cox and York closing the door to Conrad’s unit and getting into a red Ford Ranger pickup truck. Conrad told officials he could see items belonging to him in the truck’s bed.

McCracken County Sheriff Jon Hayden said Conrad, who was armed with a .45 caliber pistol, approached the vehicle, drew his weapon and ordered York and Cox to “stay put.”

York, who was standing next to the truck’s passenger side door, took off running, Hayden said, and as he turned to run the gun fired. Cox, who had started to back up the truck, was struck in the head.

Deputies said when they arrived on the scene, the truck had crashed into a storage unit and Cox was in the driver’s seat. He was rushed to Lourdes hospital where he died 40 minutes later, Hayden said.

The sheriff characterized the shooting as intentional.

Officers searched the pickup truck and, in addition to the stolen items, allegedly found burglary tools, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

York was captured about two hours later near Old Benton and Tyree roads about two miles from the storage facility, Hayden said.

He was charged with third-degree burglary, possession of burglary tools, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia and taken to McCracken County Jail.

Later that day, Conrad posted on his Facebook page that he had to shoot Cox because he was afraid Cox was going to run over his ex-girlfriend.

Hayden confirmed that a woman, who was identified as Conrad’s ex-girlfriend, was at the scene and was interviewed, but he said he could not comment on Conrad’s claim.

“I will say this,” Hayden said. “The case was presented to the grand jury in an impartial manner — just the facts were told. We testified to the facts and what the evidence was. There was no request from any of the investigating officials or offices for a decision one way or another. (The indictment) was a grand jury’s decision.”

A special grand jury was convened Tuesday at the McCracken County Courthouse to hear the case. Commonwealth Attorney Dan Boaz said calling a special grand jury is a rare occurrence and is usually done at the request of a law enforcement agency.

In grand jury proceedings, at least nine of the 12 jurors have to vote for an indictment, Boaz said, but the vote count is confidential.

According to Paducah defense attorney Mark Bryant, a shooting is justifiable when the shooter’s or a third party’s life is threatened.

“The key to it is this,” he said. “You have the right to use deadly force if you fear that you or someone else is about to be raped, seriously harmed, kidnapped or murdered.

“You do not have the right to use deadly force if someone is trying to take your property, unless that person is trying to dispossess you of your home,” he added.

Bryant also commented that Conrad’s Facebook claim could be a significant factor in the case.

“That changes everything,” Bryant said. “If that’s actually the case, if (Conrad) really had a legitimate reason to believe (Cox) was going to run her over, then (Conrad) was within his rights to shoot him. But if that’s all (baloney) then he had no legal grounds to shoot the guy.”

In cases involving theft, like this one, Bryant said the use of physical force would be considered justifiable.

“You can use physical force if someone is trying to rob you or your storage unit for instance,” he said. “But you can’t use deadly force unless your life or someone else’s life is in danger.”

Conrad was arrested just before 7 p.m. Tuesday in Calvert City, Hayden said.

York was arraigned in McCracken District Court on Tuesday morning, and a not guilty plea was entered.